Attachment Anxiety

What it measures

Measures the anxious dimension of adult attachment style, reflecting a chronic fear of rejection, abandonment, and asymmetric caring in close relationships. Key phrasing traces back to Collins and Read (1990) and Hazan and Shaver (1987). Discriminant validity from the avoidance attachment dimension is well established in Johnson et al. (2012). Used by David (2016) to examine how attachment style moderates consumer responses to social consensus advertising.

Representative items

• I worry about being alone.
• When not in a relationship I feel anxious and insecure.
• I worry that others care less about me than I care about them.
• My desire for closeness sometimes pushes people away.
• I worry a great deal about my relationships.

Citation

Johnson, A., Whelan, J., & Thomson, M. (2012). Why brands should fear fearful consumers: How attachment style predicts retaliation. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(2), 289–298.